Greater protection secured for elephants, tigers, dolphins and turtles
5 December 2008
(Rome, Italy) - Some of the world's most threatened animals were afforded greater protection this week at the 9th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) taking place in Rome.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) congratulates CMS Parties for making such excellent progress during the week-long meeting where many countries made commitments to robust agreements and cross border alliances to actively protect wildlife and their habitats. There were also crucial discussions and agreements on how to tackle some of the main threats to marine species such as ocean noise, climate change and by-catch from fishing practices.
However, IFAW believes that adequate resources are essential to the success of this unique conservation treaty as it approaches its 30th anniversary next year and therefore it is vital that after such a successful meeting, countries provide the time and money needed to ensure that these agreements are properly implemented.
“The Convention was far reaching, covering gravely threatened species from all corners of the globe,” said Darren Kindleysides, IFAW’s Programmes Manager and Head of Delegation to the CMS meeting.
“We were delighted to see solid agreements made to protect many key species from polar bears in the cold of the arctic to turtles in the warm seas of the Pacific. Now it is critical that countries pledge funding to ensure these much-needed collaborative agreements are fully implemented to protect some of the planet's most threatened animals.
“Our wildlife is facing its very own global financial crisis. Without
further investment we cannot hope to fully safeguard migratory species.”
For media-related inquiries, contact:
Amanda Gent - IFAW UK
Tel: +44(0)20 7587 6765
Mobile: +44(0)7747 567 635
Email: agent@ifaw.org
